Neighborhood Spotlight: Spring Valley

This month I want to highlight one of the neighborhoods in DC where I grew up, Spring Valley. This idyllic predominantly residential neighborhood has a suburban feel, yet it is located within DC’s city lines.

Location: Located in the far Upper Northwest quadrant of the city nestled between Westmorland Circle to the north, American University to the south, Mass Ave to its east, and Sibley Hospital to the west.

History: The neighborhood has been home to many notable residents over the years, politicians (like George H.W. Bush and Richard Nixon before they moved to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave), lawyers (former US AG Eric Holder among many others), and business tycoons (Warren Buffet) just to name a few. Before the land was developed much of it was owned by American University. In 1917 the federal government leased land from AU to create a weapons testing facility for WW1. In the 90s remnants of the chemical weapons were found and after investigations, litigations, and clean-ups all toxic waste was removed and declared clean in August of 2020. W.C. and A.N. Miller companies were the first to develop the neighborhood as part of its flagship subdivision in 1928.

Schools: While no elementary school or secondary schools are located in the neighborhood it is home to American University and Wesley Theological Seminary. The area falls within the Horace Mann Elementary School, Hardy Middle School, and Jackson-Reed High School DCPS zone.

Retail: Two commercial developments straddle Massachusetts Avenue which is home to the retail and restaurants in the neighborhood. The two main restaurant draws are Wagshals and Millies, however, there are other eateries too (Compass Coffee, Le Pain Quotidien, and Pizza Paradiso). Wagshals, which has been serving deli sandwiches in DC since 1925 moved to the Spring Valley Shopping Center in 1939. Millies has become a staple of the community featuring “fresh California Baja style fare with a coastal vibe”. The big retail draws are CVS and Crate and Barrel. For additional retail and restaurants, you are a short drive away from Cleveland Park, Glover Park, and Georgetown. Although there is no metro, Tenleytown is close by for metro access plus more retail and restaurants.

Neighborhood Style: W.C. and A.N. Miller designed the neighborhood to maintain the area’s rolling hills and natural landscape. Oak-lined curvy streets were designed to eliminate traffic hazards instead of most of DCs grid pattern streets. While there are currently a wide variety of home styles the most common in the early days of the neighborhood were brick colonials, tudors, cape cods, and ranchers. There are also now several embassy residences in the neighborhood like South Korea, Canada, and Mexico.

Here are some of the 2023 Single Family Home stats (1/1/23-4/30/23):

Total homes sold: 12 (20% decrease from 2022)

Average Sales Price: $2,755,000 (22.84% increase from 2022)

Average Cost per square foot: $821.80 (28.67% increase from 2022)

Average Close price to list price: 100.73% (1.18% decrease from 2022)

Average Days on Market: 5 (78.26% decrease from 2022)

The most expensive house to sell was $4,995,000